Federal Practice Section

This section was formed in 2005 to serve the needs of Tennessee attorneys whose primary practice is in the federal courts. Its purpose is to further the knowledge of its members and to act as an advocate for those attorneys.

Ernest Wilson “Ernie” Williams died Nov. 30 at the age of 69. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, with a tour of duty in Vietnam, Williams earned his law degree from the Nashville School of Law. He practiced law in Franklin until being appointed U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee by President George H.W. Bush. He held that post from 1991 to 1993. He later served as a Williamson County commissioner and general sessions judge. Visitation will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home and from 1 to 2 p.m. on Sunday at Bethlehem United Methodist Church. Funeral services will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at the church. Burial will follow in Williamson Memorial Gardens.

Throughout the course of the 2016 presidential campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised to rescind the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The 2010 law placed new regulations on banks and restricted the ways they can trade or speculate. It also created the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, amended legal protections for corporate whistleblowers and established new guidelines for corporate governance. Trump has argued the law has allowed big banks to get bigger, while putting community banks out of business. Some legal observers question whether the act can be repealed in its entirety given its scope. Several share their observations and predictions about the act’s future with the ABA Journal.